We’ve had a lot of rain already this year where I live. I’m not complaining, just setting the scene. Because we live in a rural area, we burn a lot of our trash in a barrel. With all the rain, it had been a while since I emptied the ashes. There is a large washed-out area at the back our property where I dump them. You go through a low-lying area in the trees to get to it, crossing two run-off creeks.

Since the barrel was over half full of ashes, yesterday I put it on my tractor and headed off to empty it. There was still some water in the creeks, but it didn’t look too bad. I made it through the first one, but as soon as I hit the second creek, I knew I was in trouble. I felt the tractor sinking below me. Even though it is four-wheel drive and has very aggressive tires, that makes no difference when it sinks down to the axles. It is stuck. Because we had more rain last night, it will probably sit there a while before I get it out.

Have you ever been stuck in the mud? It is a pretty helpless feeling. The Psalmist wrote about that.

Psalm 40:1–3 ¹ I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. ² He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. ³ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Commentators tell us that terms like mud, mire, the pit or the depths all refer to Sheol or the grave. It is a bad thing to be stuck in the mud, even more so if you are talking about what you deserve because of your sin! But David, who wrote this Psalm, reminds us that God is our Savior, our rescuer. He lifts us up out of what we deserve and sets us on the firm foundation of His promises.

You and I know that God has kept all His promises in Jesus. He is the Rock of our salvation, the one who has paid for our sin and given us His victory over the grave. That is our reason for singing His praises in our lives, which gives others the chance to “see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

 Don’t stay stuck in the mud.